LeBron James willing to cede some of his point guard duties for Lakers

LOS ANGELES -- After leading the NBA in assists last season, LeBron James said he’s willing to take a backseat on facilitating the offense for the Los Angeles Lakers if others like new additions Dennis Schröder and Marc Gasol prove capable of handling the job.

James and Anthony Davis will get their first action in the preseason Wednesday on the road against the Phoenix Suns.

Schröder has said he wants to start at point guard this year, but Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has not committed to a starting lineup yet. And Gasol had good success in L.A.’s second preseason game facilitating the offense from the high post, finishing with five assists in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers last week.

James seemed open to the idea of playing off the ball more this year.

“Every year calls for whatever challenge presents itself,” James said. “If it presents for me to be the primary ball handler and also try to lead the league in assists, or make sure I’m being in the forefront of getting guys involved, then I can take that responsibility, as we saw last year.

“If our team doesn’t need that this year, then that’s absolutely fine as well. As we’ve seen through the first two games, being able to facilitate through Marc at that high post area is going to give us another playmaker. Dennis is going to give us another playmaker. It doesn’t matter for me. Whatever the team needs me to do this year. … Every year is its own challenge, so this challenge could be different. And whatever the coaching staff, or if players come to me and say they need me to score more than I did last year, or we need you to try and assist more than last year, then I’ll try to do that. Or if they need me to defend more -- whatever it is, I just want to win. That’s all it’s about for me.”

Vogel said James and Davis will play an undetermined number of minutes in the first half of the game at Phoenix. Making sure both superstars are rested and healthy after a short layoff has been a priority for the Lakers.

James said he has no specific goals for Wednesday’s game other than building on what was established in the first two exhibition games by his teammates.

“I just want to continue what the ball club has been doing,” James said. “They’ve been sharing the ball, moving the ball, playing at a really good pace and then trying to defend and rebound. We just want to pick up back where we left off in the bubble, but also enhance that with the new guys.

“I’m going to do the same thing. Whatever it takes for our ball club to win, I’m going to bring my game. You guys know what my game provides for this ball club. And I’m going to produce that every night.”